Our core needs to be people place
November 23, 2009
R. John Dolbec
The Hamilton Spectator
CEO Hamilton Chamber of Commerce
http://www.thespec.com/Opinions/Lett...article/677634
Re: 'Don't blame fear of core on panhandlers' (Opinion, Nov. 19)
The demise of Hamilton's downtown core has been 30 years, or more, in the making, and its rebirth will not be instantaneous.
Nevertheless, the results of desperate acts remain visible everywhere. In any successful city, the core is high-priced prime real estate comprised of small offices, apartments and condominiums, with quality shops accessible at ground level.
The poor image of our core lies not in the raw numbers of "panhandlers," but in the disproportionate numbers of disadvantaged seen there in the absence of a more balanced mix of people. The fact that panhandlers are not at all dangerous, or that our downtown is indeed truly safe, are both irrelevant. The point is that people feel the core is an unattractive, indeed, for many, an unthinkable place to be.
On any given day in almost any European city, there are usually more pickpockets than all of the panhandlers of southwestern Ontario combined. Yet, most have no image problem. Their streets are overflowing with residents, workers, tourists, artists and students who vastly outnumber the rest. All cities have their disadvantaged, and no one disputes that poverty is real and poverty reduction vital.
Nevertheless, successful cities do not make its core the Mecca for those in social need, to the exclusion of others. The problem can be summarized in one sentence: Attractive people place or Tin Pan Alley?
So, we need to stick to the plan. We need to do what is necessary to attract quality living and the rest will inevitably follow. That basic premise will guide what needs to be done. Moreover, let us not get sidetracked any longer by desperate, or wishful, thinking, allowing ourselves to lose focus on the side issues.
-- R. John Dolbec, CEO, Hamilton Chamber of Commerce